This invention relates to signal registration devices and particularly to devices for remote reading of meters, especially watt-hour meters, gas meters, water meters, etc. which accumulate values over periods of time.
In meters such as watt-hour meters, gas meters, and water meters, a rotating member usually drives an internal gearing mechanism which shifts a numerical display that exhibits the accumulated total of energy, gas, or water used over a period of time. Effectively, the gearing mechanism accumulates the instantaneous quantities continuously being measured. The accumulated total displayed is non-volatile and may be examined by a meter reader at any time. However, the disc supplies very little torque to the display. Hence, the data cannot easily be transmitted to remote locations. Therefore, such meters are difficult and expensive to read from remote locations, such as public utility offices, where the information thereon is required. Even when the information in such meters can be remotely sensed with electronic devices, the information is often rapidly lost because of the volatile nature of such devices.
An object of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned difficulties.
Another object of the invention is to measure and accumulate weak recurring signals so that they can be read and stored at remote locations.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical register for meters such as watt-hour meters, gas meters, and water meters, and to permit such mechanical registers to be read easily, either electronically or visually.